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 that I asked one of the natives what percentage of Indian blood there was in the people of Copiapó. He was astonished at my question and replied that there was no [ndian blood at all. When I told him of my impressions of color and head form not merely among the school children but among many of the peo- ple whom I had met he appeared still more surprised and told me that every well-informed man must know that there were no Indians and no Indian blood at Copiapó, that the people of the town were Chilenos. When I asked him about the ancestry of these Chileans he said that they were of Spanish descent and that, though there had been Indians in the valley and a certain amount of intermarriage, the Indian population had gradually disappeared. The fact is, of course, that the Indian population has been thoroughly mixed with the white. But it is interesting to learn that the native regards this mixture as a new type, and indeed I think it is. Of Indian customs and ways of life, ancient religious ritual, language, and so forth there is not a trace—in contrast to the almost barbaric mixture of Christian and Indian rites in northern Atacama or in high- land Bolivia and Peru. Everyone speaks Spanish, the laws are impartially enforced, and there is no distinction in land tenure or government or social affairs on grounds of race or color.

One of the most striking features of Hispanic-American life is the persistence of given families in certain historical locations. Where there was a Diaz at the beginning of colonial life there you will find many Diaz families today. If a colonial grant was made to a Gonzales you will now find a Gonzales in possession of the land. Perhaps this would not strike a Frenchman or an Englishman as a matter of special interest, for the inheritance of landed property and reluctance to part with it, in short the fixed and stable quality of the old life of these countries, is somewhat similar to that which we find in Hispanic America or in Spain or Italy. In Copiapó it is illustrated by the family name of Aguirre. Francisco de Aguirre was the founder of Copiapó, and his descendants are scattered throughout the region today.

Having passed a week in Copiapó I had become acquainted through the officials of the mining companies and through